What do you think?
Rate this book
Eat, Sleep, Save the World: Words of Encouragement for the Special Needs Parent
An encouraging and empowering read, Eat, Sleep, Save the World reminds every parent of a child with special needs that they are, in fact, superheroes.
Parenting is hard—for everyone. And it takes a lot of inner pep talk and prayer to be the kind of parent your child needs. Eat, Sleep, Save the World is the rallying voice for the parenting special needs community. It highlights the exceptional qualities God has gifted you with, so that you can take care of your exceptional children. It is a celebration, a hallelujah, a high five for what you are doing right. And it offers peace in God for what you feel you lack.
With a mixture of humor, honesty, and hope, Jamie Sumner brings comfort to other parents like herself who need to hear that God has made them more than capable to raise their special kids.
Parenting is hard—for everyone. And it takes a lot of inner pep talk and prayer to be the kind of parent your child needs. Eat, Sleep, Save the World is the rallying voice for the parenting special needs community. It highlights the exceptional qualities God has gifted you with, so that you can take care of your exceptional children. It is a celebration, a hallelujah, a high five for what you are doing right. And it offers peace in God for what you feel you lack.
With a mixture of humor, honesty, and hope, Jamie Sumner brings comfort to other parents like herself who need to hear that God has made them more than capable to raise their special kids.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 3, 2020
9 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Sumner
17 books343 followersJamie Sumner is the author of the critically-acclaimed middle-grade novels, Roll with It, Tune It Out, and One Kid's Trash. Her forth middle-grade novel The Summer of June hits shelves on May 31st, 2022 with Atheneum Books for Young Readers. She is also the author of the nonfiction parenting books, Eat, Sleep, Save the World and Unbound.
She has also written for the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Connect with her at Jamie-Sumner.com
She has also written for the New York Times and the Washington Post as well as other publications. She loves stories that celebrate the grit and beauty in all kids. She and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. Connect with her at Jamie-Sumner.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 10, 2020
I have read many Christian books written for parents of kids with disabilities, and this is without a doubt the book that offers hope! Jamie Sumner shares honestly, yet while allowing us to see the struggles, she turns around to offer hope, to challenge our perspective, to point us to Biblical stories where we can see our pain reflected but also the way through. She is not here to paint a “perfect” picture, but she does challenge us to look for the perspective that will bring life to us.
Perhaps the most beautiful gift in this book is that if you have ever felt inadequate as a mom of a child with a disability, Jamie reminds you that you are more than enough. Through honest stories recounting her mistakes or oversights, she shows us that even when we fail, we are the ones who move mountains for our kids. She invites us to be gentle with ourselves, to believe in our strength, and to celebrate the life we have.
Jamie is also a wordsmith. Her stories, her experiences... you are right there with her, but also enjoy the writing simply for the pleasure of beautiful writing. To me, this is an added bonus!
Perhaps the most beautiful gift in this book is that if you have ever felt inadequate as a mom of a child with a disability, Jamie reminds you that you are more than enough. Through honest stories recounting her mistakes or oversights, she shows us that even when we fail, we are the ones who move mountains for our kids. She invites us to be gentle with ourselves, to believe in our strength, and to celebrate the life we have.
Jamie is also a wordsmith. Her stories, her experiences... you are right there with her, but also enjoy the writing simply for the pleasure of beautiful writing. To me, this is an added bonus!
April 13, 2021
I received an ARC from B&h Books via NetGalley. This review is my personal opinion.
What an encouraging and well-written book, Although I am not a special mom. I am a special teacher and aunt. These almost ten and seven years have been a blessing, but they have also been filled with many challenges. What I like about this book is how honest and open she is about their story with Charlie, she doesn’t portrait herself as a wonder and perfect mom. But a real down-to-earth mom, who in the middle of her trails has found God’s grace to keep going. The other part that I like is the biblical lesson she chooses for each chapter and also the questions for discussions. . In a world filled with so much information, we need to be careful what we embrace. I believe this book is a wonderful gift, especially for parents; but also for anyone, either family or professional of the area. Many thanks to the author and to the team that makes it possible, you all did a great job.
What an encouraging and well-written book, Although I am not a special mom. I am a special teacher and aunt. These almost ten and seven years have been a blessing, but they have also been filled with many challenges. What I like about this book is how honest and open she is about their story with Charlie, she doesn’t portrait herself as a wonder and perfect mom. But a real down-to-earth mom, who in the middle of her trails has found God’s grace to keep going. The other part that I like is the biblical lesson she chooses for each chapter and also the questions for discussions. . In a world filled with so much information, we need to be careful what we embrace. I believe this book is a wonderful gift, especially for parents; but also for anyone, either family or professional of the area. Many thanks to the author and to the team that makes it possible, you all did a great job.
April 29, 2020
Jamie Sumner writes from experience as the mother to a son with cerebral palsy and, while she brings gritty stories of tongue reduction surgeries, suctioning trachea goop, and buckling a car seat around a G-tube, there is no despair in the room. Eat, Sleep, Save the World reminds the special needs parent that she is a superhero to her child. Jamie pulls in a cast of characters from Marvel comics just to make her point, and since she has a way with a narrative, she works her magic on biblical personalities from Lot to Lazarus, all with the goal of empowering mums and dads to persevere in the good work of showing up every single day with hope.
Many thanks to B&H Publishing for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
Many thanks to B&H Publishing for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which, of course, is offered freely and with honesty.
March 15, 2020
This book hits it out of the park. Jamie has a true gift of storytelling. She effortlessly weaves together real-life experience, fictional examples, Bible stories, and practical action steps. I found myself in awe of the way she brings it all together and as I read I often wondered – why didn’t I think of that?
Eat, Sleep, Save the World is truly a gift to the special needs community. So much of what is written in these pages is exactly what I needed to read as a special needs mom. I’m grateful for Jamie’s voice of wisdom, authenticity, and hope.
Eat, Sleep, Save the World is truly a gift to the special needs community. So much of what is written in these pages is exactly what I needed to read as a special needs mom. I’m grateful for Jamie’s voice of wisdom, authenticity, and hope.
March 4, 2020
A much-needed book for special needs parents!
Raising a child with special needs can be a very lonely experience. That’s why I was so excited for the release of this book. Jamie Sumner understands the challenges of having a child with special needs. She uses her experience and faith to offer support and hope to other parents and let us know that we are not alone.
Raising a child with special needs can be a very lonely experience. That’s why I was so excited for the release of this book. Jamie Sumner understands the challenges of having a child with special needs. She uses her experience and faith to offer support and hope to other parents and let us know that we are not alone.
March 12, 2020
This book is tender and funny and real. The author weaves in lessons of resilience, grace and hope amidst her expert-level storytelling. This book is helping me see what I am doing right as a special needs parent and is also helping me shed the guilt. It is most importantly a needed dose of encouragement. I can’t recommend this one enough!
March 29, 2020
The successes of the Marvel and DC universes show that the world loves a superhero. You know what I mean, those people who seem so ordinary, until a crisis hits, and then out comes the cape, and they set out to save the world—or at least render the bad guy a lot less powerful than he seems at first glance. Maybe they don’t have the superpowers needed to save the world, but parents of special needs kids fall into the category of super-hero. At least in my book.
In her latest book, Eat, Sleep, Save the World: Words of Encouragement for the Special Needs Parent (B&H Publishing, 2020), Jamie Sumner shares the world that she was charged with saving: that of her son Charlie, born with cerebral palsy and several other interesting ‘bad guys’. This is a heart-warming story of how plans go awry, but how we can depend on God to help us through the toughest of crises, whether it’s a one-time thing, or it’s ongoing, and lasts for a long time.
Sumner allows herself to be vulnerable—both as ordinary human and superhero—and shares her thoughts on the super powers that on a daily basis allow her to get through the crises involved in raising a special needs child. The 6 super powers, and yes, they are available to all of us are simply as follows (because we all can’t fly or turn invisible): determination, hope, resilience, patience, laughter, and thankfulness.
She devotes a couple of chapters to each super power, and in each chapter there is another person mentioned. Of course, we hear about Ant-Man, but the main person she mentions as an example comes directly from the pages of the Bible. For thousands of years people have faced trials, and managed to overcome. Things didn’t always go as they planned, but somehow, they got through the bad times. Even when our human frailties are most evident, God’s grace and power are made manifest.
I can only imagine what a blessing this book will be to the parents of special needs children who can find the time to read it, but beyond that, it seems that anyone else who reads it will benefit too. It just might help us to walk the proverbial mile in someone else’s shoes.
As a member of the publisher’s bloggers’ program, I received a copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review, but it is definitely a joy to be able to do to.
5/5
In her latest book, Eat, Sleep, Save the World: Words of Encouragement for the Special Needs Parent (B&H Publishing, 2020), Jamie Sumner shares the world that she was charged with saving: that of her son Charlie, born with cerebral palsy and several other interesting ‘bad guys’. This is a heart-warming story of how plans go awry, but how we can depend on God to help us through the toughest of crises, whether it’s a one-time thing, or it’s ongoing, and lasts for a long time.
Sumner allows herself to be vulnerable—both as ordinary human and superhero—and shares her thoughts on the super powers that on a daily basis allow her to get through the crises involved in raising a special needs child. The 6 super powers, and yes, they are available to all of us are simply as follows (because we all can’t fly or turn invisible): determination, hope, resilience, patience, laughter, and thankfulness.
She devotes a couple of chapters to each super power, and in each chapter there is another person mentioned. Of course, we hear about Ant-Man, but the main person she mentions as an example comes directly from the pages of the Bible. For thousands of years people have faced trials, and managed to overcome. Things didn’t always go as they planned, but somehow, they got through the bad times. Even when our human frailties are most evident, God’s grace and power are made manifest.
I can only imagine what a blessing this book will be to the parents of special needs children who can find the time to read it, but beyond that, it seems that anyone else who reads it will benefit too. It just might help us to walk the proverbial mile in someone else’s shoes.
As a member of the publisher’s bloggers’ program, I received a copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review, but it is definitely a joy to be able to do to.
5/5
August 2, 2021
It took me a very long time to read this book. While it left me feeling encouraged and hopeful and seen, it also left me feeling emotionally drained as Jamie Sumner nailed so many hard truths about being the parent of a special needs child. I could usually only read one chapter at a time but every time that I did I was so thankful for taking the time to do so. I loved the way that Jamie interspersed funny, endearing, sometimes heartbreaking stories from her own experiences (see chapter 7 for my favorite one!) with stories directly from the bible to show us how God is there. He is always there. Through every single good and bad moment. This book will provide encouragement. It will provide support. It will make you laugh and probably cry. It will lift you up. This is one of those books that I am grateful for finding and it was exactly what I needed.
March 4, 2020
One- Read ALL of Jamie Sumner’s books.
Two- Do you need a good dose of hope in your journey of parenting a child with special needs? This book will bring it. She writes with honesty about her experiences and shows her heart amongst the pages. Here is another mother like you speaking the words of your heart. Trying to make sense of this journey we have been called to as a special needs parent.
Two- Do you need a good dose of hope in your journey of parenting a child with special needs? This book will bring it. She writes with honesty about her experiences and shows her heart amongst the pages. Here is another mother like you speaking the words of your heart. Trying to make sense of this journey we have been called to as a special needs parent.
July 31, 2020
Good encouragement for parents-not just for those with children that have special needs.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews